Why It Matters
The conversation highlights how art can revitalize a community by attracting cultural tourism in unexpected seasons, offering a model for other regional galleries. It also delves into universal questions of self‑perception, vulnerability, and the human condition—topics that resonate deeply with audiences seeking meaning and connection through creative expression.
Key Takeaways
- •Tracy Emin curates “Crossing Into Darkness” in Margate
- •Show blends local, historic, and international artists together
- •Emin’s self‑portrait explores identity after surviving cancer
- •Anthony Gormley’s concrete block challenges viewers’ bodily perception
- •Dutch artist Jolene Quackenbos presents visceral, theatrical self‑portraits
Pulse Analysis
The “Crossing Into Darkness” exhibition, curated by Tracy Emin, transforms the Carl Friedman Gallery in Margate from a seasonal seaside stop into a winter cultural hub. By spotlighting the town’s stormy coastline and cold winds, Emin invites visitors to experience a darker, more atmospheric side of the seaside community. Attendance figures—over 2,000 on opening day and steady hundreds thereafter—demonstrate how a provincial gallery can attract national attention when it offers a compelling narrative that blends local heritage with global art.
Central to the show are works that interrogate the body and identity. Anthony Gormley’s 1992 concrete block, “Home of the Heart, Number Two,” confronts viewers with a heavy, almost imprisoning form that suggests both mortality and resilience. Emin’s own self‑portrait, a mono screen print titled “I Vanished and Reappeared,” reflects her post‑cancer introspection, using unpredictable ink layers to symbolize the fluidity of self. An Edvard Munch lithograph from 1895 adds an existential layer, its skeletal arm and haunting gaze echoing the exhibition’s title and prompting questions about life, death, and artistic legacy.
The show also highlights emerging talent, notably Dutch artist Jolene Quackenbos. Her vivid, theatrical self‑portraits—featuring blood‑stained brushes, period costumes, and layered shadows—merge feminist commentary with art‑historical references, from Van Gogh to 18th‑century portraiture. Quackenbos’s work energizes the gallery space, offering a raw, visceral counterpoint to the more subdued pieces. Together, these diverse contributions illustrate how contemporary art can bridge personal narrative, historical dialogue, and community identity, positioning Margate as a surprising yet vital node in the global art circuit.
Episode Description
Season 27 @TalkArt continues with TRACEY EMIN. Hosted by @RobertDiament.
An exclusive new interview recorded in Margate within Crossing Into Darkness, a group exhibition curated by Dame Tracey Emin including works by 21 international artists.
Crossing Into Darkness brings together a group of artists whose works confront the darkness inherent in human experience, not as something to be feared but as a necessary threshold toward renewal. In times marked by upheaval and uncertainty, this journey feels both universal and deeply personal.
Featuring works by David Altmejd, Georg Baselitz, Louise Bourgeois, Marlene Dumas, Tracey Emin, Laura Footes, Antony Gormley, Francisco Goya, Gilbert & George, Celia Hempton, Anselm Kiefer, Joline Kwakkenbos, Mark Manders, Danielle Mckinney, Lindsey Mendick, Juanita McNeely, Edvard Munch, Hermann Nitsch, Janice Nowinski, Anna Pakosz and Johnnie Shand Kydd.
The title of the show is very self explanatory, especially for the times we are living in. But even so we have always had our own journeys. And I feel that we have to cross into darkness to find light. I’d like this show to be very emotionally immersive and people to feel the strength and vibrations within the works. I want people to know that art isn’t just something that you look at. That it has a deeper purpose and can penetrate all souls. I love the idea of people coming to Margate on the greyest of winter days with gale force winds and crashing waves to make the pilgrimage to see the show.
– Dame Tracey Emin
Follow @TraceyEminStudio
Special thanks to @CarlFreedmanGallery
This powerful group show runs until Sunday 12th April at Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate. Free entry, no booking required.
Tracey Emin’s major solo exhibition A Second Life runs until Sunday 31st August 2026 at Tate Modern, London. Tickets available from Tate.
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